A flower in a field. 🌸A star in the sky.✨Simple things seen and sensed through the eyes of a child help them find and define their place in the universe in two beautiful new picture books
from Candlewick Press and Nosy Crow.

STARDUST features a thoughtful young girl who tries and tries to shine as brightly as her talented older sister. She cannot knit as well, find a missing ring first, or design the best outfit for the costume competition. When she seeks solace under the starry night sky, her grandfather joins her for a quiet chat. Once there was nothing, he tells her, but after a BANG and a series of twinkles, stars were born. Willis sends the duo off on an imaginary journey to explore the subsequent creation of planets, moons, seas, trees and even, sisters!

Smith’s richly colored illustrations will carry young readers into the fantastical realm to introduce the Big Bang and how all is created from stardust. The tender relationship between the girl and her grandfather is light and sweet but never heavy-handed, leading to a delightful conclusion that reaches decades into the girl’s future.

The book jacket is generously speckled with silver stars and a shiny title, a bright and cheerful exterior feature that highlights and compliments this book’s encouraging message about being true to yourself.

A tiny red ladybug has captured a girl’s attention on the cover of Toni Yuly’s THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AND ME. Open the book, and the ladybug creeps up a single blade of green grass. Suddenly a bright yellow flower dominates the page, as if from the bug’s perspective. Two boots arrive on scene, signaling the girl’s arrival and her tender exploration of the natural wonders that surround her.

Yuly’s captivating illustrations are a combination of ink, charcoal pencil, torn tissue, cut paper and digital collage. The colors are bold and textured, beautifully conveying the gritty beach, crisp blades of grass, and fuzzy cotton dandelion seeds. “I am a small part of it all,” proclaims the young naturalist, joyously exploring and connecting with the world around her. Readers will be duly inspired to get outdoors and join the fun.

★Starred Review – Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed by Cathy Ballou Mealey

Where obtained: I reviewed either an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher or a library edition and received no other compensation. The opinions expressed here are my own.

WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA
Written by Traci Sorell
Illustrated by Frané Lessac
(Charlesbridge; $17.99, Ages 3-7)

is reviewed today by Cathy Ballou Mealey.

★STARRED REVIEWS – Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness

Sorell’s delightful debut,WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA showcases ways that the universal value of gratitude can be expressed through a contemporary Cherokee lens. Using the phrase “Otsaliheliga” (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) meaning “We are grateful” as a refrain, the book unfolds throughout the seasons. Measured, lyrical text engages readers with opportunities for gratitude both small and large, drawing upon tradition, nature and family.

The book opens in fall (uligohvsdi), introducing readers to the Great New Moon Ceremony and the Cherokee New Year through cultural symbols and traditions. Special foods, song and crafts appear to mark seasons and occasions. The refrain “Otsaliheliga” centers the narrative with poetic pause as one explores and celebrates with family and community.

Each season is named in Cherokee, presented phonetically and in the Cherokee syllabary. Sorell’s tale builds bridges between old and new, past and present, honoring the legacy of ancestors while anticipating hope and joy for future generations.

Lessac’s vibrant illustrations are warm and contemporary, incorporating many rich details throughout double-spread community scenes and intimate family gatherings. Her bright gouache is cheerful, resonant with numerous opportunities to expand the gratitude-themed narrative. Text and illustrations blend seamlessly to uplift connections between history and tradition, past, present and future.

Sorell’s backmatter includes more information on various ceremonies and observances, a Cherokee syllabary and pronunciation guide. Her author’s note discusses keeping balance between observing the ancestral and ceremonial way of life with demands of the modern, non-Cherokee world. Readers should also note her extensive acknowledgements in the book’s dedication, a true reflection of Sorell’s rich, respectful and authentic work.

The final pages – “Every day, every season. Otsaliheliga” – are illustrated with a beautiful composite of fall, winter, spring and summer encircling one tree where people have gathered together in celebration and gratitude. Don’t miss this special book and the chance to embrace its message of thankfulness and appreciation.

Reviewed by Cathy Ballou Mealey

Where obtained: I reviewed either an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher or a library edition and received no other compensation. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Bruce Springsteen, Superstorms, and Fortune Telling
on the Boardwalk

Inspiration for Mira Forecasts the Future

Guest Post for Good Reads With Ronna

By Kell Andrews

Brief Summary of Mira Forecasts the Future:Telling the future is a gift: you either have it, or you don’t. And Mira, daughter of the famous fortune teller Madame Mirabella, just doesn’t. When Madame gazes into the crystal ball, magic swirls. When Mira looks . . . nothing. Then one day Mira gets a pinwheel and a windsock, she finds her own form of “magic” in the science of predicting the weather—and saves the day for everyone! This engaging tale, with a fun touch of science thrown in, helps kids understand that we all have our own special talent.

Guest Post:
I’m a Belmartian by marriage, which means I claim the beach town of Belmar, NJ, as a home. During Superstorm Sandy, Belmar’s boardwalk was destroyed, and many homes were damaged or demolished.

My beach town was on my mind when I was looking for a picture book idea, and it combined with a line from a Bruce Springsteen song, “Asbury Park, Fourth of July (Sandy).” “Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie for tellin’ fortunes better than they do.”

Sandy, storms, boardwalks, fortune tellers — they all came together in Mira Forecasts the Future, the story of the daughter of a boardwalk fortune teller who can’t see the future with magic, so she learns to predict the weather with science.

Mira learns about weather, and this book is the story of a girl who saves a surfing contest and the day. It doesn’t take place in the present or in the past, despite Lissy Marlin’s gorgeous Boardwalk Empire inspired ilIustrations, but somewhere in between.

It doesn’t take place in New Jersey — it could be Coney Island, Santa Cruz, or any beach town. Boardwalks and beach towns seem like tourist traps to those visiting, but there are real people who live there. I wanted to capture a warm small-town environment — flavored with salt water taffy and pizza by the slice, soundtracked by calliope music and the crash of waves.

Kell Andrews, author of Mira Forecasts the Future.

In Mira Forecasts the Future, I mixed together facts and fiction, and not just about the weather. There was a real Madam Marie, Marie Castello, who told fortunes on the Asbury boards, just as her granddaughter still does. Madam Marie was never arrested, so the fortunes she told must have come true.

There isn’t a real Mira. I hope instead there are a lot of them — kids who learn to use science to learn about nature, forecast the future, avert disaster, and make the world a better place.

Visit Kell Andrews’ website hereto find out more about the author, book signings and more.

FEATURING SUNBELIEVABLE FROM STORY QUEST BOOKS

Welcome to Multicultural Children’s Book Day! We’re delighted you stopped by. We’ve got a review of a terrific and unique picture book from our friends at Story Quest Books today. But before you get the scoop on Sunbelievable, please take a few minutes to learn more about MCCBD and help us celebrate and promote diversity in kidlit. Use the hashtag #ReadYourWorld and spread the word!

THE MISSION OF MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY:
The MCCBD team’s mission is to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW

This multiple award winning picture book will draw young readers in immediately with its magical mood, vibrant colors and creative artwork done by cleverly combining photography and collage. Readers will feel as though they’ve stepped inside the book alongside the two adorable main characters.

The charming story opens with sisters YaYa and Leen at the beach as dusk approaches after what was clearly a busy afternoon of building sandcastles and collecting shells. Later, back at home, when it’s bedtime, little Leen doesn’t want to go to sleep so big sister YaYa makes up a story to lull her sister off to dreamland. While bringing inventive ideas into her whimsical tale of the sun’s power and all the wild and zany things it can do, YaYa manages to enthrall and entertain Leen. Does the sun really teach at Firefly School? Can flowers talk to each other? Can the sun talk to birds? Can it scrub its rays clean? The interplay between the siblings is delightful and soon Leen is joining in with a story of her own. Both girls happily drift off to sleep full of sunbeams and the promise of a beautiful sunrise the next morning.

Using peppy dialogue that kids can relate to, the authors have created a fast-paced story with jump-off-the-page illustrations that not only complement the text, but definitely add another layer of appeal to Sunbelievable. I also love the playful handling of the topic of the sun’s various roles that provide inspiration for these two young girls’ imaginations. What better way to put your own child to bed at night than with a picture book that fills growing minds with new STEM ideas to dream about? I can just hear the conversation you’ll have with your child after reading this story! This is not only a sun power story, but a girl power one as well.

In the back matter, you’ll find helpful educational information about the sun courtesy of NASA’s Chief Technologist, Robert D. Braun, Ph.D. Also included is a Firefly Lullaby poem. Its accompanying music can be listened to online at StoryQuestPublishing.com.

But why is this book included in Multicultural Children’s Book Day you may ask? Because, children of all races, ethnicities, and abilities should be represented in literature so that, as the MCCBD mission states, young readers can “see themselves within the pages of a book.” Sunbelievableis an excellent example!

RELATED ACTIVITY:
Making a fun sun print (aka a Cyanotype)This easy activity requires the advance purchase of sun print paper available online or at a photo supply store. Another option is to use red or black construction paper. Once you have chosen the paper, head outdoors with your child and look for things found in nature like leaves, flowers or sticks and arrange them in a design. If you prefer, look around the house for a spoon, a coaster or a coin from your wallet. It’s recommended to use items with clear, defined borders as the goal is to have good contrast for the finished print. Place the item/s on the paper and leave out in the sun for at least five minutes. What is happening is the sun is fading the exposed part of the paper thus creating an image where the item/s were placed! After time sitting in strong sunlight, the paper can be rinsed under the faucet. Your child will soon see the image appear and in doing so learn about the power of the sun, or solar energy.

MCCBD now has its own Paper.li! A Paper.li is a free online newspaper that aggregates information on the topic of multicultural books for kids from all over the Internet. Please feel free to subscribe and stay up-to-date with this topic.

Classroom Reading Challenge: Help spread the word about our Classroom Reading Challenge. This very special offering from MCCBD offers teachers and classrooms the chance to (very easily) earn a free hardcover multicultural children’s book for their classroom library. These books are not only donated by the Junior Library Guild, but they are pre-screened and approved by them as well.

What we could really use some help with is spreading the word to your teacher/librarian/classroom connections so we can get them involved in this program. There is no cost to teachers and classrooms and we’ve made the whole process as simple as possible. You can help by tweeting the below info:

As diverse as the weather is, so are the babies illustrated by Carol Thompson, in this four book Whatever the Weather!board book series which includes: SNOW, RAIN, SUN, and WIND, (Child’s Play International Ltd., $4.99, Ages 0-3).

In SNOW, a child puts on his warm clothes and goes out to experience the sounds and sensations of playing in the snow.

Slide…
… and…
… slip.
Whump!

When the sun gets low in the sky he must say goodnight to his snow monsters (snowmen), and go inside to warm his chilly nose and toes.

In contrast to the cold and snowy weather, Thompson has brightly illustrated the book, SUN, with babies donning sun hats and sunscreen, and little else. They strip down to the bare necessities of clothing for a day of fun in the sun.

Shoes off, socks off…
…clothes off!

This barefoot romp takes us from sun up to sun down.

RAIN is a delightfully lighthearted dance through the raindrops. Little ones will love the onomatopoeia and rhythm of the text.

Drip drop, Plip plop, Splish splosh……sploosh!

From first drop to sunshine and rainbows, this is a fun read!

Hold onto your hats and hounds when you read WIND. Thompson’s illustrations capture the movement and chaos of a windy day.

Wind ruffles and tickles …
…and snatches!
Wheeeeeeeeee…

This briskly paced read lends itself to drama and sounds effects, as the wind lifts us up and sets us back down to a calm ending.

It’s no surprise that Thompson has done such a beautiful job of illustrating stuffed bunnies, pinwheels, and kiddie-pools, as well as many other easily recognizable items in this delightful 12 page board book series. She’s illustrated more than forty-five books for children and is the recipient of the Mother Goose Award for Children’s Book Illustration.